


Trying Not to Fall for You

by silvermoon718



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2020-01-11 23:36:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18434459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvermoon718/pseuds/silvermoon718
Summary: Peridot used to be popular in the past. She had power, but she didn’t get that power by being nice. Eventually she lost it all and found herself alone. Thankfully there were a few people willing to give her a second chance. But years later, when someone from her past comes back, they aren’t willing to give her that second chance. Not liking the fact that she was being judged for her actions in the past, Peridot tries everything in her power to make it up to them.





	1. A Natural Enemy

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first book in (what is hopefully) a series. There will be both Lapidot and Amedot, as I love both ships, along with a little bit of different ships, and the endgame is not cement yet. The other books will be more episodic while staying chronological.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally Published: Late March 2018
> 
> Time period: February 21st, 2018 (Morning)

_Peridot ___  
Feeling like you don't have a place and having the constant fear of being judged by others is no easy thing. However, I wasn't always like this and I've also improved from this as well. Believe it or not, I was once very social. I had no fear of being different and I had power. I loved having that power, but I did things to other students that weren't right because people thought it was "cool". Well, it wasn't. I hurt many other students for my own desire to be accepted by others. One time, it even got to the point where one kid moved because of what I did back in sixth grade. But, when I went into seventh grade, some of us got transferred to the public middle school. There were tons of new people, and for the first time I was lost. Everyone I thought I knew split off with other people and I was alone. I tried to be social and make friends, but it didn't work that well. I was judged for my personality and interests, the things that nobody really knew about until that point in time. Before, people only cared about what I did, not anything else. School uniforms also did their part to hide quirks. After I started to get picked on, I kept repetitively overthinking about what might happen if I said anything to someone and what they'd do. Would they think I'm annoying? Would they think I'm weird?  
   I went on for a few months like this until one day when I was walking to my locker towards the end of the second month of school. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned to see a short girl with hair that was dyed light purple. She told me that she saw me alone and was surprised that nobody was with me when she was used to me being seen with lots of other kids. This girl was Amethyst. She went to my other school with me and was actually one of the kids I bullied. While it wasn't one of the worst things I did, I still hurt her a lot by calling her a runt, along with a few other things. Even though she was only a foot or so shorter than me, compared to her family and the rest of the class, she was very short. However, she surprisingly asked me if I'd like to hang out with her during homeroom period, as we had it together. She hadn't been in school for the first few months because she was on a big vacation with her family. We actually got along well together, and I apologized for picking on her in the past. She laughed and said it was okay. We talked some more before going off to our next class. During lunch she introduced me to her small group of friends, Garnet, Carnelian, and a few others who Carnelian invited over. I soon found out Carnelian was Amethyst's cousin. I didn't like Garnet at first. She was very silent and took almost everything seriously. But eventually I became friends with Garnet and understood her more once I got to know her. Carnelian and I got along but she was usually off with her other friends, so it was mostly just me, Garnet, and Amethyst. Thanks to them I finally belonged somewhere where I could be who I was. I still can't really be myself around others too much, but all I need is them. I'll have to explain this a bit more sometime, rather than this undetailed summary, along with other things that have happened in the past. But for now, it's time to focus on the present.  
     I'm currently a Sophomore. Everything before seventh grade is a complete blur to me now. I was a stupid clod back then and I choose to block it out. Everyone else seemed to forget too. Our group of friends is also bigger now. Later during seventh grade, Amethyst introduced me to a sixth grader named Steven, who started hanging out with us outside of school. He and Amethyst were very close. We became friends almost immediately. Eventually a girl named Connie also joined us. She was a little over a year younger than Steven, and eventually tested out of eighth grade this year and is a Freshman like Steven. I also have a few other friends who aren't part of my main group. I made them when I didn't have lunch with Garnet and Amethyst last year. I found my best friend from way back in Kindergarten, Topaz. She's in the class above me, because I got held back in Kindergarten for being a little shit. We quickly became friends again and I was introduced to some of her friends. This year I have lunch with my other friends, but Topaz and I always greet each other in the hallway. Everything is just about perfect, and I'm happy.  
     It is the first day of the third quarter. I'm getting all of my new classes sorted out.  
_Okay, so first I have Geometry. Then I have Cell Biology, after that I go to homeroom. Next I have lunch, which is good, as it's earlier than last quarter. Then I have speech, and finally English. _Classes should be alright this quarter. I always have homeroom with Garnet, and I know I'll have lunch with at least one of my friends. Though I still don't know about my other classes.__  
  I walked into my Geometry classroom, set my stuff down on my desk, and sat in a chair. Our teacher introduced herself to us, just like usual for the first day of the quarter. Then she gave us a task for the rest of the class time. We were to review what we'd learned in Algebra one (which I took as a Freshman) and watch a video that had notes we were supposed to record in our note packet, then do some math problems at the end of class. I always listen to music when we do these sort of things, as I only need to watch what the teacher is writing in the video to understand what's going on. Math is super easy for me, and if I'd chosen to double up on Math classes last year and this year, I'd be whipping through Pre Calculus right now instead of Geometry. I immediately got started on the video notes, which the whole class wrapped up pretty swiftly. The next part of class was not that relaxed. I don't have any friends in my Geometry class, so when she told us about having partners, I knew this wasn't going to be fun. Everyone else started scrambling to pick their friends, when the teacher suddenly told us our partners would be the person sitting next to us. That was even worse than being left out of picking your own partner because as I slowly turned look at who was next to me I mentally facepalmed myself. The girl next to me was a Sophomore like me, that had short hair dyed blue, blue eyes, and a smirk on her face.  
"Glad to be your partner Peridot," She said with a hint of snide in her voice. This was Aquamarine. She was my closest friend when we were younger, but now she's a complete bitch. Well on the second thought, she's always been like that. She just never directed it at me back then.  
"Same here," I smiled, returning the snide remark.  
"I can go get the whiteboard and dry erase markers for us by myself if you just want to sit here," Aquamarine told me.  
"That works for me," I casually replied. Aquamarine walked away, trying to slide past the other students who were far taller than her. She is unbelievably short compared to everyone else. I know I'm short myself now, as I'm five foot one, and everyone else had huge growth spurts a few years ago. Almost everyone in this school is significantly taller than me, but at my height I'm still pretty tall compared to a lot of the other students, even some of the teachers. I still don't think I've seen anyone as short as Aquamarine though. It still baffles me how with her height she doesn't get picked on, she knows how to deal with that kind of stuff. If our class was a totem pole, Aquamarine would be around the very top.  
  Aquamarine made her way back to our desks and set the board down, then handed me my marker.  
   "Wow, I'm surprised you grabbed a green one for me," I said, kinda surprised.  
"Well Peri, it's kinda hard to forget your favorite color is the color of stupid weeds."  
    I gritted my teeth when she called me Peri. The only person alive that I'd even dare to let call me that is Amethyst, and on occasion, Steven.  
  "Sure my favorite color is that of weeds, but weeds are just like any other plants. Except for the fact that some of them would kill you. I also believe that blue is the color of tears, and those suck," I retorted.  
"That's why I love blue so much! It's the color of the tears I've made _you _shed!" She said, pretending to be surprised. This statement from her struck me super hard, I'd been a total wreck ever since the day she was referring to. While I'm glad I'm not friends with her anymore, it still hurts me a lot.__  
  While I was about to tell her that tears are only depicted as blue when they're actually clear, I decided not to. This stupid argument started with talking about the colors of dry erase markers. I know I'll be giving her what she wants by saying nothing back, but this needs to end.  
"Whatever. Let's just do the stupid equation problems on the front board. I'll do the one on the right side, and you can do the other," I said monotonously.  
Aquamarine just smiled at me after that, knowing she'd won, then started working on her equation. I uncapped my marker and started working on my own. It was a super easy one to solve. It was 13x - 3 = 5x + 8. All I had to do was subtract the 5x on both sides to make it 8x -3 = 8, then I added 3 to both sides so that it was 8x = 11. Then I had to divide 11 by 8 which makes x = 1.38. Once I finished that I looked at how Aquamarine was doing, she actually added a number at the beginning instead of subtracting it. This completely screwed up the rest of the problem, so she won't get the right answer when she's done solving it. I'm not going to tell her though. I just plugged my earbuds into my chrome book and listened to my Spotify playlist.  
   After a few songs, Aquamarine tapped my shoulder and I took out my earbuds.  
"Does this look right?" She asked me, pointing at the equation she finished solving.  
  "Totally!" I told her, after quickly glancing at it.  
I went back to listening to my music and noticed Aquamarine looking around the classroom. She probably didn't know what else to do with herself since she was "done" with her math problem. I stopped paying attention to her and got lost into my music again.  
   Then Aquamarine tapped my shoulder once more.  
I took out my earbuds and whispered, "What now?"  
  "Look at that girl sitting in the back corner of the classroom," She told me, glancing over in that direction for a split second.  
  I looked over there to see a somewhat tall girl with almost shoulder length hair colored blue. She had earbuds in with her face looking down at her work. When she lifted her head up to look out the window for a little bit, I could catch a glimpse of her dark blue eyes.  
  "What about her?" I asked, turning back to face Aquamarine.  
"Don't you recognize her?" She smirked, resting her head onto her hand.  
     "No. The only girls I know with short blue hair are stupid little clods."  
Aquamarine only look amused my my comment.  
  "Well then, I suppose I'll just leave you be then," she said smiling, as she turned away from me.  
  Shortly after that our teacher started to check our boards, and only let us leave if we had our problems right. When she got to Aquamarine and I, she looked at our problems and noticed that the one Aquamarine solved was wrong.  
"I'm sorry you two, I can't let you guys leave until you fix the problem the both of you got wrong."  
  "Oh, I didn't work on that one. We decided to split them up, and Aquamarine got that one," I pointed out to her.  
  "Then you may be dismissed. Your problem looks perfect. Have a nice day," she told me before turning to Aquamarine, "You need a little help it seems."  
  I walked towards the door and Aquamarine whipped her head back to me with a menacing glare. I smirked back at her before exiting the door. Time to go to snack break and be with my friends.

_____ _

_____ _

____

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, while this chapter didn't exactly flow the best, it mostly just existed to somewhat set things up. I don't like the backstory synopsis, but I had to use it to show a little bit of the status quo and stuff. I plan on going into it deeper in the future.


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally Published: June 14th, 2018
> 
> Time Period: February 21st, 2018 (Morning)

_? ___

____

     I strode into my first block class just before the bell rung. I peered around the classroom, looking for a seat, and noticed a pretty girl with blonde hair and nice hips. I've caught glimpses of this girl in the hallway a few times during the first half of school. But now, I finally got a good look at her.  
_Wow, she's actually shorter than me now, but she's definitely matured. ___  
On any normal occasion, I would've probably gone up and flirted with her. I may have immense social anxiety, but that doesn't stop me from cracking jokes or being flirty. But my anxiety is not the reason I've never gone up to this girl. Any girl who looks like that is bound to be a complete bitch, and I hate them all.  
     You may think I'm jumping to conclusions, but I know for a definite fact that this is true, because I _know _this girl. I sat down in a desk in the back corner, my favorite spot to sit in classes where you get to pick your own seats, and continued to think.__  
     At first I wasn't sure it was her, because she looks so different now. But seeing her sit next to that easily distinguishable blue haired c-... bitch really proved that my feeling of it being her was correct.  
     I looked in her direction again a bit later, after we'd finished taking notes, and noticed a smug grin plastered onto her face as she talked to her friend. She _definitely _hasn't changed a single bit. As much as I hated the other girl, I have more painful emotions built up from this blonde than anyone I've ever met. Pushing away my thoughts on her, I got back to my work.__  
     As soon as I was released to go to my next class, I got out of that classroom as soon as possible to avoid being caught in her line of vision. Right when I exited the door, I felt someone poke my shoulder. I looked up behind me to see who it was and saw a familiar girl with a friendly face with a bunch of wine stain birth marks.  
     "Hi!" I exclaimed.  
"I thought I'd surprise you by waiting outside here. Are you ready to walk to Genetics together?" She asked me, with a hint of disgust in her voice when she mentioned Genetics. We didn't exactly want to take that class, but some colleges recommend it. Neither of us know what we want to do when we get out of high school, so we decided to take the class just in case.  
     "Yes. It was nice of you to wait for me," I told her with a smile.  
     "No problem. I can carry your stuff if you'd like me to."  
        I nodded, and handed her my binder and notebooks.  
     We started walking through the commons, then into the D hallway to the left.  
I still can't believe that I have a class with that blonde girl. I've managed to make it through half of the school year evading her, and not having a single class with her helped. What would happen if she were to eventually see me? I hugged myself tightly, scared of the possibility of that happening.  
We continued to slowly walk down the hallway when my classmate put her hand on my small shoulder.  
"Are you alright? You've been walking with your head down," she asked me worriedly.  
I pushed her hand off my shoulder.  
"Yeah. I'm just fine, thanks for asking," I replied with a pretend smile.

_____ _

——————————————————————————————————

_Peridot ___

____

     During the short snack break we get between the first and second period of the day, many kids choose to get to their classes early. Other kids however, like to use this time to socialize. My friends and I are some of those kids.  
    "Ugh I'm so happy that Geometry class is over!" Amethyst exclaimed as the threw her stuff onto our table. When Amethyst and I looked at our schedules for school last summer, we noticed that we had Geometry at the exact same time, but were in different classes. We were both very irritated. Not only because we're best friends, but because she sucks at math and needs my help. She would've failed Algebra I last year if it weren't for me.  
"I take it didn't go too well for you?" I asked her with amusement.  
   "Nah, it went alright. I just really hate math. Thankfully I found out that Connie is in my class," Amethyst said as she ate a granola bar.  
"Yeah, she needed me to remind her on how to get the x to one side of the equation. That should be easy," the young Freshmen girl replied, stabbing a straw into her juice-box. Connie had chosen to double up on math this year, taking both Algebra I and Geometry.  
"Did you manage to find any friends in your class Peridot?" Steven asked me.  
    I groaned, "I suppose you _could _say that."__  
"Who was it?" Garnet questioned.  
     I looked up at her, "It was more of an _old _friend."__  
"Emerald?" Amethyst asked.  
      "Nah, she and I get along sometimes. It was-" I started to say before I heard stomping coming in our direction.  
  "And here she comes now," I said as I rested my head onto my hand.  
     Everyone else turned to see Aquamarine marching towards us, with one of her friends, Navy, right behind her. We were somewhat used to Aquamarine coming over, as every once in a while she comes to make some smart comments about us.  
"It's that time of the month again, isn't it?" Amethyst sighed.  
     Aquamarine finally made it over to us, and pointed at me.  
"You."  
"Yeah," I smiled smugly.  
     "You think you're so smart," She glared at me.  
"I _am _smart," I told her. I know exactly why she's over here.__  
     "Thanks to your little trick of telling me my incorrect math problem was _totally _correct, I now have to stay after school with the teacher in order to keep up with the rest of the class!"__  
"That's nice of her."  
      "I'm going to miss Volleyball practice tonight and it's all your fault!"  
"So what? Volleyball is stupid anyways."  
      "It's not stupid. Oh, And it's not like you'd understand missing practice, as you're not in a school sport. Am I right?" She said, asking me in a prissy, confidant tone.  
   "For your information, I'm on the school trap team. It's just not going to start until March," I proved her statement wrong.  
"And just how good at that are you?"  
      "The best I've gotten is an eighteen," I proudly state.  
"Out of how much?"  
      "Twenty-five."  
  "Let's see... if we put that as a letter grade that would be a D-"  
      "Actually a 72% is a D+, but good try."  
"You really aren't making yourself sound any better. And if that's the best you've done, then what's your average?"  
     "Twelve."  
"And I'm smart enough to know that that's an F letter grade."  
     "Wow. You're actually _right _," I say, then looked down at the table. I know sports don't go by letter grades, but if it did, it's hard to think that I'm failing in something I love so much.__  
      Aquamarine smiled at the truth of making me upset, and left proudly with Navy following closely behind. I was waiting for her to do something worse as revenge for me making her have to sit with the math teacher after school. But I suppose she called whatever just happened good enough, I guess. I plopped my head down onto the table and let out a long sigh.  
     "Aw, don't let her get to you Peri. She's just one of those people that never feel sorry for what they do, and purposely go out to make things worse for everyone. She's just a _small _obstacle all of us need to ignore," Amethyst smiled as she lifted my head up.__  
I rolled my eyes, "Only trouble there is that she's impossible to ignore."  
And with that, the second period bell rung for us to go our separate ways.

_____ _

————————————————————————————

Peridot 

     My Cell Biology class went by pretty quick, and while I didn't have any friends in it, I also didn't have enemies. The first day mostly consisted of "getting to know people" activities, which I don't care for too much.  
   Afterwords, I went to my home room, where Garnet always is.  
     "Hi Garnet!" I said, as I set my stuff down on the desk next to her. None of us have homework today, so we either talk, or I draw. I opened up my sketchbook to start drawing some Camp Pining Hearts fanart. Camp Pining Hearts is one of my favorite shows, even though whenever I watch it, I mostly spend my time yelling at the screen.  
     I was just about to draw Percy's head when Garnet started to speak.  
     "So, what was all that with Aquamarine today?"  
     "Haven't we talked about her enough already?"  
     "No."  
     "Ugh. Long story short. We were in math together, we had to be partners, she started ripping on me like usual, I finished my problem before her, when she finished hers I told her that it was right for payback as she did it wrong, she had to stay after class because of me, and you know the rest. We're done now."  
     "Are you sure that's all?"  
     “ _Yes _! Although, when she was “ _done _” with her math problem, she pointed out this one girl with short blue hair that she expected me to know!"____  
     "Are you sure you don't know her?"  
     "The only people I know with blue hair is Aquamarine herself, her older adoptive sister, who I haven't seen since I was twelve, her adoptive mother, her friend Holly, though her hair is really light and more periwinkle, my friend Zoey, and one of your moms!"  
      "Okay, I believe you. It would seem that Aquamarine was probably just trying to mess with you when she said that."  
      "Yeah, that would make perfect sense."  
For the rest of our homeroom period I continued to draw a very cute drawing of my favorite CPH ship, Piercy. In the half hour that we have for this period, I managed to get most of my line-art done. Meanwhile, after our short conversation, Garnet had asked our teacher if she could leave to help out the school counselor with a few things.  
When I saw the clock in my classroom get close to eleven twenty, I packed my stuff up and left as soon as we could go.  
My first day of the third quarter was a bit obnoxious at first, but it's alright now. The day is almost over, I only have to go to Speech, Lunch, and then English. I have no idea how it could get any worse than it was over two hours ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought a lot about what school sport Peridot would enjoy the most, so I decided that Trap Shooting would fit her best. I can really see her getting excited when she blasts clay pigeons (look it up, they kinda look like tiny orange frisbees) into pieces, as that kinda thing seems like something she'd do. This is also strongly supported by my belief that she'd have a gun esq. thing for her gem weapon. Whether she can actually summon one, or she makes it herself. It's also a more unique sport for something different.


	3. I Don’t Even Know You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written: July 22nd-28th, 2018
> 
> Time Period: February 21st, 2018 (Morning)

_Peridot ___  
"Guess who got to the lunch line before anyone else today?!" I asked Connie as I located where she was sitting and sat down by her.  
"I'm guessing that it's you, as you're here quite early for getting food in the cafeteria," Connie told me, then sighed, "I wish I could have the school food. My mom won't let me have it because it's apparently bad for you? But that's weird because schools try to be obnoxiously healthy with their food and you guys have had told me that it's pretty good for it being school food."  
      "Yeah. Do you know who else has lunch with us this quarter?" I asked her, changing the subject when I noticed that it was only the two of us.  
      "Steven is still coming yet, and I think he told me that a new friend of his that he met last summer has lunch with us too. He has other friends in this lunch period as well, but they all have their own groups."  
      "New friend? Why haven't I met her yet if he's been friends with her since last summer?" I questioned.  
     "Well, she's not really the most outgoing type. The only people she's willing to be around is Steven and this one girl. I think she's dating her."  
     "Hm. I want to get to know her. I don't know who she is, but if she's friends with Steven, she has to be pretty nice, right? What's her name?"  
     "I don't know what her name is yet, I've only been around her a few times. But she's not really nice. She's super standoffish and she kind of seems like a bitch, even though Steven says otherwise. The girl she hangs out with is a complete jerk, so I'm not surprised."  
     I don't know what to think right now. But, I still want to give this new friend of Steven's a chance. Maybe she just seems like an unkind person to Connie because she's not comfortable around other people.  
    I started eating my food for a while before Steven came because we sometimes talk a lot during lunch and don't finish our food. I'm pretty sure he went into the chicken nugget line today because he's taking forever to get here. The chicken nugget line is always crazy long at school since almost everyone chooses to get in that line. Sometimes people never return...  
     "Sorry it took so long guys! I'm here now though!" I heard Steven's voice say and heard him sit down in the chair next to me.  
     I lifted my head up when he sat down and made eye contact with a pair of deep blue eyes. It was the same girl that Aquamarine pointed out in my math class earlier.  
    Her eyes widened in shock when I lifted my head up. I could tell that there were some emotions hiding within that shock, but I had no idea what kind.  
   She apprehensively sat down _really _close to Steven, causing Connie to glance up at her with slight annoyance. She didn't notice Connie looking at her though.__  
    "I don't think you've met my new friend yet Peridot. But then again, you two are both Sophomores, so you might have had classes together before," Steven said to me.  
     "Actually, I noticed her in my math class this morning. I didn't really say anything to her though," I responded.  
     "Well, then I'll introduce you!" Steven looked over at her, "This is Lapis Lazuli. I met her on the beach last summer, and we've been friends ever since. Lapis moved here around that time because her mom got a job around here. She is super fun and loves jokes and stuff!"  
Lapis wasn't really paying attention. She was resting her head on her right hand while she poked her food with the fork she was holding in her other hand.  
"And this is my friend Peridot Gladioli! We've been friends for around four to five years. She's really sweet and fun to be around. I bet you two will be great friends," Steven told her.  
     "I already knew her name," Lapis muttered quietly, still looking at her food. Something told me that she didn't want me to hear her say that, but I still caught it.  
     "I assume Steven has told you about me before then, right?" I said with a nervous laugh.  
"Yeah, sure," she responded sarcastically. She still wasn't looking at me.  
Maybe I could ask her a few questions to get to know her.  
"So how old are you Lapis?"  
No response.  
"Yeah, I kinda wondered that too. I always just assumed you were sixteen," Steven said.  
"Of course I'm sixteen. I'm a Sophomore," Lapis told him. When she talked to him her voice was a bit more cheerful. Then she went back to her food.  
"You could easily have been fifteen. A lot of people in our grade are still that age. You could be seventeen too. My friend Amethyst is turning seventeen tomorrow," I told her.  
Again, she didn't respond to me. But her fork fell out of her hand and clattered onto the table when I mentioned Amethyst. That was very peculiar. She picked it up and pretended as though she didn't drop it.  
     I guess I could ask her a different question. That could give me a better response. What about her sexuality? That's something my friends and I talk about a lot. For instance: Connie is straight, Steven is straight too (even though the kids at school who aren't friends with him think he's really gay), Garnet is both aromatic and asexual (while she has no interest in having romantic relationships _herself _, she really likes it when others have them, and can give good relationship advice. Though it's strange, as she's never been in a relationship. I guess she gets that from her moms.), Amethyst told me that she's very gay (it's kinda obvious), and I am asexual. More precisely, heteroromantic.__  
     I'm not going to ask her about that though. I don't know her at all, so she might think that's a weird question.  
     "Do you have any pets Lapis?" I asked.  
     Once again, there was not a single response until _Steven _said something.__  
     "That's a good question Peridot! I actually never asked you if you had pets, Lapis. I haven't been to your house yet, so I wouldn't know," he said with a small laugh at the end.  
      "I don't have any pets. Just some fish," she told _him _.__  
Now I am really finding it strange. Why won't she talk to me? Maybe it could be that she's really introverted.  
     "Uh, Lapis. Do you like anyone?" Connie asked, trying to hide her irritation from earlier. Lapis sat right between her and Steven, so it's understandable that she'd be irritated. The question was a little odd though.  
      Lapis looked at Connie.  
"No shit," she said.  
     So that kind of bombed my theory that Lapis was only acting like that towards me because of being introverted. She barely knows Connie anymore than she knows me, yet she gave her a clear response and eye contact, even if it was a little rude, and didn't even acknowledge me when I spoke to her.  
I have a feeling she has something against me. Why? I have no idea. It makes sense though. She won't look at me, speak to me, and instead of sitting in between me and Steven, she sat between Connie and Steven when, by now, she probably knows that they are super close.  
I'm going to try talking to Lapis when Steven isn't around. That may show me a bit more. For now though, I'm just going to finish eating. Lunch isn't too long.  
     The rest of the lunch period was pretty quiet, well Connie and I were. Lapis and Steven were kinda talking amongst themselves about who knows what.

_____ _

Connie and I got up to dump our garbage, and I put my tray away early. After that, the two of us went into the bathroom to talk, since barely anyone goes in there at this time.  
     "Is it just me, or did Steven's friend seem a bit off to you?" I asked once we got in there.  
     "That was a bit weird. When Steven introduced her to me in September, she looked at me when I spoke to her and stuff. Even if she didn't seem like she wanted to talk to me," Connie told me.  
     "I feel as if she has something against me, but I don't know what or how."  
     "It would appear that way. But, she doesn't know you, which is why that's so weird."  
     "Exactly!"  
I am determined to figure out why Lapis is acting like this towards me. I want to figure this out before Steven notices things because I feel as if he'd be heart broken that two of his friends can't get along. Especially when he expected the two of us to hit it off.  
     Suddenly we could hear a bunch of people dumping their lunch trays and walking to the locker bay. Some girls were also going into the bathroom now as well.  
     "It looks like people are going back to their third block classes. We'd better go now," Connie said as she looked outside.  
     "I'm going to go to the bathroom before the last stall is taken. Good luck in General Science Physics," I told her.  
     "Thanks, but I don't need any luck for that class. It's pretty easy," she said with a smile, "Goodbye Peridot."  
     "Bye."  
     After that, Connie walked out of the bathroom and vanished into the stream of other students walking to their lockers.  
     I went into the last stall quickly when I saw another girl walk in.  
     When I was done going to the bathroom, I washed my hands. While I was grabbing the paper towels I looked outside at the cafeteria. Everyone was gone now, except for one girl walking past the entrance to the bathroom. She was wearing a plaid shirt with black skinny jeans and converse.  
It was Lapis.  
I quickly dried my hands off and threw the paper towels away as I quickly went out of the bathroom to catch up with her.  
"Hey Lapis!" I called, "I want to talk to you!"  
     Lapis whipped her head around to look at me so quickly, that I couldn't even see her face. The next thing she did was run. This made me really upset. I wanted to talk to her calmly about what happened at lunch, but that doesn't seem like it's going to happen.  
I rolled my eyes and let out an angry exhausted sigh before going after her. At this point, I was pretty ticked off.  
      My black leather boots pounded lightly on the hard linoleum floor with every stride I took. As I got closer to her, she tried to run faster. That's when I quickly darted forwards and grabbed her small wrist.  
     This thankfully got her to stop evading me, but something wasn't right. Her eyes were glossed over with fear when she looked at my hand. That wasn't the only thing either. She was shaking.  
      I looked down at my hand and noticed my grip on her wrist was tighter than what it felt like. I quickly released my hold on her.  
     "Lapis. I want to talk to you," I told her straightforwardly while being slightly stern.  
     "Not interested," she said as she turned her head away from me.  
     "Well too bad. We need to talk to each other eventually, so we'd better do it now."  
    Lapis didn't respond to me, and attempted to escape again. However, I quickly noticed a loose shoelace and stomped on it with my right foot, causing her to trip.  
     After she fell I picked up my foot from her shoelace. Tripping her was unintentional, but it looks like she's alright. Lapis started to retie her converse, giving me a chance to speak to her.  
     "I'd like to know why you're acting like this towards me," I said with my arms crossed over my chest.  
     Lapis finished retying her shoelaces and stood up to face me with subtle tears forming in her eyes. She looked at me dead in the eye.  
      "Stop acting as if you're completely delusional about what's going on. I know that inside that thick skull of yours you know damn well why I'm acting like this!" Lapis yelled. I do _not _have a thick skull! I can't stand it when people call me stupid, and I was already pretty triggered by her.__  
     "For your information, I am pretty damn smart and know a lot of things. However, I _do not _know why you're behaving like this. Why? Because I don't even know you!" I seethed.__  
     Lapis put her head down and tried walking away again, and I grabbed the collar of her shirt.  
     "We're not done until I say so," I said cooly. She turned back around speechlessly, her face was pretty wet from tearing up as well. But, it seemed as though she finally realized that she couldn't get away from me. Perfect.  
     Her eyes darted around as if she were figuring out a way to run without me catching her again. Then they suddenly looked past me as if there were someone walking towards us from behind me. It better not be a teacher, and if it is, I hope it's at least one of my teacher friends, since it's less likely I'll get in trouble.  
     I looked over my shoulder to see what she was looking at and saw a huge girl come up the steps from the bottom floor of the school (we were currently on the main level). She was coming from a gym class because that's what that floor is used for.  
     When she saw Lapis she jogged over to her, and while I wasn't paying attention to Lapis, she was able to run past me to her. As she ran, she quickly dried her face off with her blue sleeve.  
     "Are you okay?" She asked Lapis when she noticed her dry her face off.  
     "I'm feeling just fine," she responded, walking closely alongside her... friend?  
     "Okay, I'll take your word for it," she said in a tone that showed she knew Lapis wasn't okay. I assume she could tell that by how close Lapis was walking to her.  
     "Why aren't you in class right now?" She asked Lapis.  
     "I could ask you the same question."  
     "Fair enough. But, you should really get going. The people who have the third lunch period are going to be coming soon. I always leave earlier because I hate standing in the lunch line forever."  
     Lapis glanced at me and looked up at the other girl.  
      "Can you please walk me to class?"  
      "Of course I can," she smiled.  
     The two of them walked past me in the direction Lapis was attempting to go earlier, while I just stood there not knowing what to think.  
Their voices were started to fade as they walked further and further away from me, but I could still hear them a bit.  
"So who was that?" I could hear the other girl ask Lapis.  
"She's none of your business," Lapis replied curtly.  
"Alright then..." she said, then briefly looked back over her shoulder for another look at me. Lapis didn't see this, as her head was down. They soon were far enough away that I could no longer hear them.  
My mind quickly went back to its usual state and I realized that I should probably get to class. I'll be late enough as is, but I do not want to be seen by any teachers (which I'm already surprised that none have caught me yet) and I do not need to be seen by anyone in third lunch. One reason that I do not need to be seen, is because Amethyst has that lunch. She likes to sprint down there super quick, and she'd probably tackle me. Plus, she likes to talk, thus making me even later.  
I swiftly darted up the stairs to the top floor where my Speech class was located, thankfully I didn't need to get my stuff out of my locker, because my stuff was already in the classroom. Unlike the first and third lunches, where we go before or after the third block class, we go in the middle. This lets us leave our stuff in the room.  
That conversation with Lapis got me absolutely nowhere. The only thing I accomplished with that mess, was being late for class, and that's just wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter wasn't too rushed! I'm always super paranoid about that sort of thing. I feel like I'm going to end up skipping a bunch of things to make sure I get to where I want, then go back and add other chapters in between those to clear out the whole plot being rushed thing. I can skip a bunch of summer stuff because this specific book will be over when their current school year ends, and the next book won't have to be as dense with time gaps, because it's going to be less time relevant and more relaxed. I only need to have a few summer oriented chapters in the next book. I won't skip ahead for this book until I get to the weekend. (It's currently Wednesday for them).


	4. What Did I Do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written: September 7th-10th, 2018
> 
> Time Period: February 21st, 2018 (Afternoon)

Peridot  
     I knocked on the door of the classroom I had speech in. My teacher let me in immediately and I told her that I had gone to the bathroom and went to my locker to get my earbuds (Which I already had in my pocket). She was alright with me being a little late since I had my assignments done already. Thank god.  
     I spent the entire rest of class working on my research project for English so I'd have less to do at home. I was already ahead of things, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Speaking of which, I didn't get too much done since I was too busy thinking about Lapis.  
     Those thoughts all concluded with one thing. I wasn't even going to bother with her anymore. I did not want to deal with that again. Why does she think I did something to her? I only met her today! She won't give me any answers and I feel like this will be a never ending cycle. I'd rather Steven have two friends that don't speak rather than two that fight all the time.  
     Sure enough, it was time to go to my English class which wasn't too far away. Once I sat down I just opened up my computer and started working again. A little bit after the bell rang I heard the sound of the door open and someone came in.  
"I'm sorry that I'm late! I accidentally walked into the wrong classroom since I'm not accustomed to going here," a female voice said frantically. It was non other than Lapis. _Great. Just what I needed _.__  
"That's alright. Your spot will be in the area on the left of the classroom in the back corner behind miss Gladioli over there," our teacher replied.  
Lapis' eyes dilated when she saw me.  
"Do I have to sit there?"  
I stood up from my desk, as I wasn't thrilled about this either.  
                     "Yeah! And doesn't Reyna sit there anyways?"  
     "Reyna is in a different class right now because this was the only time frame that it would fit into her schedule and the opposite goes for Lapis. If this seating arrangement becomes a prominent issue I will switch it up. Until then, you will be staying where I put you," she told us.  
Lapis walked over to her desk and threw her stuff down. I didn't utter a single word to her. We just got our assignments and I started playing the _Wicked _soundtrack on my Chromebook while I worked on my note cards. Neither of us interacted and that was just what I wanted.__  
After class ended I wanted to find a way to calm down after my stressful day before I had to get in my truck and drive on a highway. I quickly grabbed my backpack and headed all the way down to my favorite teacher's classroom. She went by the name of Rose. However, on school grounds I was supposed to refer to her as Mrs. Universe. The two of us were good friends. I have a lot of teacher friends, but she's the one I feel the closest too.  
"Hi Mrs. Universe!" I exclaimed as I walked in.  
"Hello Peridot!" She replied as she turned her head to reveal her face that was initially hidden by her giant pink colored hair.  
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" I asked.  
"Of course! I need to grade some papers so it'd be really helpful if you could water the plants in the greenhouse for me."  
"I'd love to!" Watering plants was always relaxing to me and it was something I enjoyed doing. I can't wait for next quarter when I have Horticulture with her! She is typically a Biology teacher, but she does teach a few classes outside of her usual biology courses.  
"That's great!"  
And with that, I headed through the door that lead into the greenhouse. 

_____ _

       _____________________________________________

Peridot  
     Once I finished helping Mrs. Universe water the plants in the school's small greenhouse, I left her room and started my long walk through the school and out the front doors to get to my truck. Her room was at the end of a very long hallway and the beginning of the hallway is near the commons area, otherwise known as the cafeteria. That is the area where the doors I needed to go through were.  
     In only a few minutes I managed to walk to the entrance to the commons and it was completely empty because nearly everyone had left. Although, there's usually still some kids sitting in here at this time.  
     I made my way along the stairwell that overlooked the large cafeteria. It was really peaceful seeing this place completely empty and I enjoyed having a bit more silence after the very hectic day I had.  
      Just as I was taking it all in, I heard a loud shout from the other end of the commons over by where we go downstairs to the gymnasium.  
     "You!"  
          I looked all the way down there to see a gigantic streak of blue and blonde hair. The blue was the exact shade of which was our school color. I knew it was another student but it was very hard to depict who they were with how fast they ran and the crazy hair covering their face.  
    They didn't slow down the slightest bit when they came near me and once they were close enough to decipher who they even were, I let out a small squeak when I felt the pain of a huge rock being slammed into my left eye with the force of one being tossed off a tall building. The strength of it caused me to crash into the wall behind me and fall to the floor.  
It all happened so suddenly that I couldn't dodge it and it took a while for me to regain my wits. I tried to open my eyes but my left eye hurt too much to open and I could see a few fragments of glass on the floor near me through my right eye. I took off my glasses and saw that they were completely warped on the left side and the lens was shattered. Normally when I lose one of the lenses, like if one pops out when I loose a screw, that eye gets super watery and stings. However, I didn't have to worry about that since I could hardly get it open.  
After checking out my glasses I had mostly overcome my shock and noticed the huge figure looming over me. I slowly looked up from the floor and saw an extremely buff girl who towered above me. She wore a blue t-shirt with our school logo on it and lavender exercise shorts. Her skin was covered in port wine stains that looked almost like stripes. It was clear as day that this was the huge blonde Lapis hung around. If her size and muscles weren't already threatening enough, her right hand was still clenched into a fist and she was looking me dead in the eyes with a menacing glare.  
     "What the _hell _was that for?!" I spat. This was not a time to be acting weak.__  
          "You should know damn well why I did that."  
               "What is with you people acting like I know everything!? I'm pretty sure if I knew why I wouldn't be asking! Now would I?" First it was Lapis being like this, and now this crazy chick. I've had enough for one day.  
     "My girlfriend has been acting really off today and it most certainly wasn't in a good way. Somebody hurt her and while she tries to hide it, the way she holds herself shows it clear as day."  
      "And what exactly do I have to do with this?"  
           "Let's see here, the strongest showcases of this was after she was with you before she had to go back to her third period class and-" She picked up my backpack from behind me.  
     "Hey!" I yelled, trying to grab it from her, only to be pushed back onto the floor. She opened it up and took out my storage clipboard which had my schedule attached to it.  
      "That's mine!" I told her as she looked at my schedule.  
          "After math and when she finished her fourth class. You are in all of those classes with her," She stated before returning the clipboard to my backpack and throwing it back at me, causing me to let out an exasperated "oof" sound.  
     "So," she said as she clenched her fists again, "You're gonna tell me just what you did to her unless you want to be blind for a while."  
      "I. Didn't. Do. Anything," I said sternly as I looked her dead in the eyes.  
             "Liar!" She boomed as she lifted up one of her huge fists to swing at me. I knew I wasn't going to be able to move soon enough to dodge it and my right eye would fail to help me see the actual placing of her blow. I was only able to cringe and wait for impact.  
     The dark reddish fist came at me with one swift movement and there was nothing I could do about it.  
     Suddenly, when all hope was lost I felt something crash into me, narrowly pushing my small body away from the mighty blow that was going to be dealt to it. It only hurt slightly less than a fist to my face from a buff jock. I looked up to see Amethyst straddling me as she gazed down at me with her deep purple eyes. She was the only one who wore color lenses like that in my grade, so I could easily tell that it was her if the thick purple hair didn't give it away already. I felt a strange feeling inside my body for a brief second as we sat in that position before it vanished.  
     "Looks like I payed you back now," she said with a smile.  
          "If you can compare Steven learning how to drive an ATV two years ago, which could've killed you, to me being punched by some bat crazy clod, then sure. We're perfectly even," I told her sarcastically, rolling my eye.  
     "I know you're glad I got you."  
          "Of course I am!" I'm glad that I didn't get to find out what would've happened if she hadn't shown up.  
             "You know, while I'd love you watch you two have this cute little moment, I really don't like being referred to as 'a bat crazy clod' and I was already pretty upset before," the blonde stated.  
     "Go shove it up your ass Jasper!" Amethyst spat as she stood up to look her in the eyes. So her name is Jasper.  
     "Watch your tongue you stupid runt! You aren't even supposed to be here right now, yet you decided to go and play the hero and save your little girlfriend here. Well, I've had enough of both of you!"  
"You've only known me for half a day!" I retorted.  
"And she isn't my girlfriend!" Amethyst yelled at Jasper, then glanced over at me before facing her again. "She's not even attracted to other girls."  
"Does it look like I care?" She asked rhetorically before pausing. "You know what? I am actually glad you're here Amethyst. Now I can kill two birds with one stone."  
She clenched her jaw and stepped closer to us. But thankfully, a familiar voice came out from behind the corner.  
"Amethyst! You do not run out of detention like-" The voice started to say before the person it came from walked closer to us and saw the scene. "That...."  
"Hey, Miss Halite!" Amethyst said in a chipper tone as she waved to her.  
"Why are you so happy? I caught you."  
"Hello Halite," Jasper said cooly upon seeing her.  
"Hello Jasper," She replied in a salty tone and a cold glare before looking back at Amethyst, "You'd better get back to the classroom immediately. I do not want to deal with you running out all the time!"  
"Well, if I hadn't ran off, Peridot would've ended up in the hospital because of this dumbass!" Amethyst retorted as she glared at Jasper.  
"You act like I want to get in trouble," Jasper muttered.  
"Peridot?" Ms. Halite questioned, then looked down at the floor where I sat, "Oh, I didn't see you down there."  
"Is this really a good time to be making a short joke?" I asked.  
"Why would I be making a short joke right now?"  
"Yeah. She can't even make jokes to begin with," Amethyst stated.  
"That's enough from you, young lady!" Ms. Halite snapped. "What exactly happened here?" She asked.  
"Jasper beat up Peridot," Amethyst told her.  
"I did not! I only punched her in the eye!" Jasper yelled.  
"Ha! So you admit to it!" Amethyst smirked.  
"So, Jasper if you _only _punched her, then why is almost the entire left half of her face red?"  Miss Halite asked as she examined my face.__  
     "It's not my fault that she's a fucking midget. My fist is like the size of her head," Jasper scoffed. I am not a midget!  
     "I think I'd like to give you a shiner as well!" I hissed.  
          "We don't need any more drama. Jasper, you are in big trouble. Normally you'd be suspended for doing something like this, but I feel like you'd only enjoy that. Instead, I'm going to put you in detention for two months," Ms. Halite told her.  
     "You can't do that! My dad will kill me and I have football practice after school!" Jasper yelled. It was very sudden, but I swear I caught a glint of fear show in her eyes.  
     "Of course your dad would be angry. Don't all parents get pissed when their kid gets detention? And besides, football doesn't start until spring."  
     "Yeah, but Mrs. Avenir makes us practice during the winter to keep us in shape. She has a short fuse, so I really don't think it'd be a good idea for me to miss practice."  
"I'm sure that she'll be perfectly fine with that once she knows the reasoning behind it."  
"Do you even have a room to give me detention in? You only work as a substitute teacher."  
"I'll use whenever room I have for the day. And if I don't have one, I'm pretty sure Mrs. Universe would be more than happy to lend me hers. You really tick her off."  
"She killed my idol! Of course she would hate me. Isabelle and I are the basically only two who believe that she did that!"  
Ms. Halite have her a cold glare and clenched her teeth, "I do not appreciate you accusing her of such a thing. This stupid political theory has nothing to do with the matter at hand."  
Amethyst and I just stayed put as we watched our salty teacher and Jasper argue.  
Ms. Halite was certainly winning this. It may have gotten off topic, and I just wanted to go home, but as long as I get to see Jasper put into her place, I was fine. Though Jasper was pretty stupid to be getting into an old murder theory that got debunked three years ago.  
Jasper just let out a long groan, which was silenced by a loud stomping sound coming towards us.  
"Jasper, you asked to get a drink of water fifteen minutes ago. Why haven't you come back yet?!" A small teacher with dark brown hair yelled when she came over to us and looked right up at Jasper. Before anyone could answer her she made eye contact with me and gasped.  
She immediately knelt down by me and looked at my face.  
"Oh Peri! What on earth happened to you?!" She asked worriedly as she put a hand up to my face. Normally I would yell at her for calling me that, but I didn't have the patience to do so and I knew this also wasn't the time and place.  
Ms. Halite turned back towards Jasper, "So, would you like to tell Mrs. Avenir what happened?"  
"You did this?" The gym teacher asked coldly.  
"Yes..." Jasper replied.  
"Why?" She questioned as she stood up and crossed her arms.  
"I'm pretty sure that if some dumb bitch did something to hurt your wife that you'd slug them in the face without question."  
"Can you please tell her to stop swearing!" Ms. Halite yelled, only to be ignored.  
"Of course I wouldn't hesitate to do so. But I would never do that to someone who is innocent. Are you sure it wasn't Carrie? She looks a lot like Peridot and she is far more likely to hurt someone."  
I can't stand Carrie. She always wears these big boots to make herself seem taller than she really is and she pronounces her name in a way that makes it seem like she's saying 'square' in French. I called her out on it once and I never heard the end of it.  
"That's besides the point. Jasper believes that I did something because she saw me with her girlfriend. However, I didn't do anything but step on her shoelace and trip her by _accident _," I told them.__  
"I knew you did something!" Jasper growled.  
"Enough. You had no right to hurt her," Mrs. Avenir told her.  
Amethyst sat back on the ground by me and whispered into my ear, "You know, I am really enjoying Jasper being talked down to by a midget. She really deserves it for punching you like that."  
"She's not a midget. She's only around four inches shorter than us," I stated.  
"Well, she certainly is to that beast."  
"No kidding."  
Ms. Halite let out a long sigh. They must've been wrapping up their conversation.  
"Okay, Jasper, you can go home now. You will be starting detention with me tomorrow," and with that, Jasper quickly headed back in the direction of the gym in a huff to go get her stuff.  
"I'd better go back to the gym. I'm sure everything is fine though. I put my nieces in charge," Mrs. Avenir told her.  
"I'm pretty sure everything is complete chaos down there with Isabelle and Allie in charge."  
"Nah. The boys are kinda scared of them. They usually keep everything under control," Mrs. Avenir said as she went back to where she came from.  
"If you say so," Ms. Halite said skeptically before turning to the two of us, "Amethyst, you are relieved from detention. Just take care of Peridot. She didn't get anything broken, but I'd still check it out a bit more. I need to clean up this little bit of glass before anything happens."  
      "Come on Peri, let's go," Amethyst said as she scooped me off of the ground and picked up my backpack.  
     "You know that I can walk by myself, right?"  
         "Then why didn't you get up from the floor?" She smirked.  
               "I had no need to stand up," I told her.  
                    "Fair enough. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to carry you." Amethyst said with a smug grin as she took me in the direction of the girl's bathroom. I suppose being carried by your best friend isn't too bad. And besides, I wasn't going to win an argument with her about it anyways.  
       I gave her a little smile in appreciation and she returned it as she ran off with me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I typed in Miss Halite’s first name so much while writing this. I had to backspace quite a bit.


	5. Shared Opinions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written: September 17th-November 9th, 2018
> 
> Time Period: February 21st, 2018 (Afternoon)

_Peridot ___  
"So let me get this straight, Jasper attacked you because you tripped her girlfriend?" Amethyst asked as she set me down on the bathroom counter.  
"I guess so? But she mentioned her acting weird after she was with me and she thinks I did something really bad to her," I told her calmly as I adjusted myself and shifted into a more irritated tone, "Lapis was acting like a complete bitch around me, if that's what Jasper means! All I wanted was to get along with her since she's one of Steven's friends, but she wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. She kept ignoring me, she tried to leave when I tried to ask her about it, and then she started yelling at me and said I was stupid! After that she avoided my questions again by going off with Jasper, acting like I wasn't even there."  
"Don't I know how that feels."  
"What?"  
"Earlier this year Jasper was forced to stay at the apartment with my other sisters and I when dad left for a while. We didn't want her there either. Anyways, she brought Lapis over one day and-"  
"You two are sisters?" I asked her in confusion. Amethyst had never mentioned her before.  
"Yeah, we're twins."  
"What!? She's huge and has those port wine stains. She even has a different skin color than you do! I know twins can have different hair color, but not that!"  
"It's completely possible for fraternal twins to have different skin, it's just very rare. You can look it up, same with everything else."  
"Why haven't you mentioned Jasper before?"  
"I really don't like thinking about her."  
"But-"  
"Okay Peridot, can you just let me get back to my story?!"  
"Yeah. Sorry about that."  
"So Jasper brought Lapis over and she gets up from the couch to grab something," Amethyst continued. "Then I walked over there and sat down by Lapis, because the people Jasper hangs out with are either fuckin' hilarious or jerks, and I was curious. I said hi to her and she just sat there with her arms crossed, ignoring me. I then I asked her if there was anything she'd like to talk about. The response she gave me was a cold 'I don't need to talk to you about anything' as she looked me straight in the eyes. I was really caught off guard and I was just like 'okay then....' Then Jasper came back and got super pissed that I went by her girlfriend. That was fun... So, my point is, that you should just leave her alone. She's not worth the time of day."  
"Mhm hm," I nodded, "I decided that myself after what happened when I tried talking to her."  
"Good. Now let's check on that eye of yours!" Amethyst said with a smile.  
            Right, that. I really hope that it isn't too bad. I definitely don't want a lot of attention drawn to it. I turned my head to look into the large mirror above the bathroom counter and gasped at what I saw.  
     "No! What did she do to my beautiful face!?" I squeaked. The area that Jasper had punched was very red and starting to swell. It's going to look even worse once it turns black in a day or so. I groaned and banged my head against the mirror before letting out  a pained squeak. It already hurts when it's touched!  
     "Well, on the bright side it'll make you look tough," Amethyst said apprehensively.  
          "That's definitely a lie! I didn't even fight back!" I spat.  
                "If you did she wouldn't have been the only one in trouble."  
                     "I don't think I care at this point."  
                          "Peridot, you don't actually mean that."  
                               "Amethyst, what did my face look like before this?" I inquired cooly.  
                                    After a brief moment of hesitation, she answered, "Uh, cute?"  
                                         "Yes. And what does it look like now?"  
                                              "Badass?" She said cautiously.  
                                                    "No! It is absolutely heinous!" I hissed before pausing, "Now, where's Jasper? There's something I'd _love _to give her," I said maliciously.__  
     "She's probably angrily getting into her truck right now. But Peridot, you are not going to fight her. Trust me, it'd only give her pleasure and you'd get in trouble," Amethyst told me with concern.  
I let out a long sigh, "I suppose you're right."  
"Here, there's a little fragment of glass on your face, let me get that for you," she said gently.  
"Okay, just be careful. My face hurts when it's touched."  
Amethyst lifted up her right hand to my face and gently brushed off the small shard.  
"Thanks Amethyst," I said with a smile, then looked back at the mirror.  
"Well everything else looks alright other than the bruise, and Ms. Halite didn't mention any injuries when she looked, so I know I have no damage to my cornea or anything," I mentioned in an attempt to stay positive.  
"That's good."  
"Although I doubt nobody will ask me out to the Winter Carnival dance on Saturday with this," I said before pausing to look at Amethyst, "Hey, are you going to finally ask your crush out this year?"  
"Nope. I'm highly positive that she'd just reject me. I'd just rather go with our group like we always do. And besides, I thought you weren't able to go this year because of your babysitting job."  
"Right! But Amethyst, you've liked this girl since seventh grade. I'd just ask her out, get rejected, and move on. It's as simple as that," I said nonchalantly.  
"It's not that easy. You wouldn't understand. When was that last time you had a crush on someone?"  
"Umm... I liked this one boy when I was in elementary school?" I shrugged.  
"Exactly! You've never had a real crush on anyone so you can't understand this feeling. Though I imagine you will one day. Maybe it'll be soon, in a year, or maybe when you're an adult. But you'll feel exactly as I do now."  
"Meh. I'd rather just have some guy I get along with ask me out or ship other people and plant flowers than find love myself. Speaking of which, I should probably get home and check on my plants."  
"Are you sure you can drive home with busted glasses and your dominant eye shut? I could drive if you'd like," Amethyst offered.  
"Nah. I have my spare glasses with me," I said as I leapt onto the floor, reaching into my backpack to get out a shiny grey silicone case. I took out the glasses and placed my warped ones in their place, then put the case back into my backpack.  
     "Oh it's the Pidge glasses! You rarely wear those!" Amethyst exclaimed when I put them on.  
     "How many times do I have to tell you that just because they are round, they aren't Pidge glasses? And besides, the reason I rarely wear these is because I don't really care to wear round glasses all that much."  
     "Why's that?"  
           "I don't know. Just feels kinda cliche," I shrugged.  
                 "Okay, so you have glasses, but you still won't be too safe driving with your sight being too far in one direction."  
    "First of all, that really doesn't affect my sight much at all, and second, _anything _is safer than you driving, Amethyst."__  
     "That's fair," she said casually, "I just wanted to make sure you are safe."  
           "I know that you clod," I smirked before giving her a hug, "I don't know what I'd do without you." I then let go and slung my backpack onto my shoulder. She always does her best to look out for me, even if she doesn't know too much. I'm lucky to have her as a friend.  
"I think I'm just going to make some art when I get home. Just to get my mind off things," I stated.  
"That's a great idea. I'm sure it'll turn out perfect, whether it's pixels or paint," she smiled.  
"Of course it'll be perfect. I _am _the best artist here. My work is nothing short of amazing," I boasted.__  
     "See you tomorrow!" Amethyst waved.  
          "You too," I smiled before turning to leave.

____

_____ _

     I cautiously walked back to the doors to exit the building. I know that I'm going to be fine, but Jasper made me really on edge. I safely made it outside. It was really nice not having to put a jacket on anymore. Earlier this month it was around thirty to fifty degrees, but today it's like seventy six.  
I got to my old black pickup truck in the parking lot and leapt inside. I really like my truck because it makes me feel powerful, considering the fact that I'm a small person driving a bigger truck. The seat is raised a little bit so I can see properly.  
      The drive home was relatively safe. It was a bit more busy around this time though, as it was rush hour. Thankfully I live out in the country.  
     When I pulled into my gravel driveway I stopped over at my barn, where I had built a chicken coop nearby, to get eggs and check on their food and water. Yes, I have chickens. They are all a bunch of clods.  
After I took care of a few minor chores at the barn I drove a bit further to my house which was built closer to the woods. It is a large cabin-like house with a small patio out front. When I parked I quickly got out and let my three month old golden retriever puppy, Pumpkin, outside to go to the bathroom as soon as I got inside. Once she was done I took her upstairs with me, where I checked on my plants. Pumpkin is still quite young, but she is already very intelligent and knows not to mess with my plants. They were all in good shape, so I didn't need to do anything.  
I quickly collapsed headfirst onto my bed and moaned. One, because I forgot about my face for a while, and two, I started thinking about this wreck of a day.


	6. Well Deserved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written: November 17th-22nd, 2018 and February 19th, 2019
> 
> Time Period: February 21st, 2018 (Evening)

_Peridot ___  
You know what? Yeah. I had a shitty day. But do I care? No. Everyone knows the saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." And most people also know that the exact opposite is true. Sure sticks and stones or maybe a fist to the face from an angry jock will hurt, but it's always words that hurt more than anything else. They cut you internally with scars that don't vanish. A simple bruise will fade away with time, and while words sometimes can as well, there are certain people who know how to make them stick. Those words will constantly repeat over and over in you mind and never leave. They drive you in a dark direction away from the cheerful persona you once were. People who know how to use their words and manipulate you in such a way are sick. _I _am sick. My point here is that no matter how many bruises, scrapes, scars, or injuries I get, I deserve any kind of pain inflicted on me. No matter what happens to me, nothing will ever amount to what I did to _her _.____  
I let out a long depressed sigh as I took out a yearbook from the top drawer of my nightstand marked 2013-2014 and flipped to the photos of my sixth grade class. I traced my finger across a small hole in the page before me. This was where the name of a young girl had once been. Aquamarine, Navy, and I had gone through our yearbooks and put in comments about our classmates and added other things as well. Before this hole existed we'd written the most derogatory term for a lesbian imaginable and added dumbass for good measure. How do a bunch of stupid eleven and twelve year olds even know that word? I think Aquamarine mentioned hearing it a few times from her mom.  
I looked at the young girl with long messy black hair in the photo above. She was smiling in the photo. That smile was now gone forever and it was my fault. One day around the end of April that year, it was announced that she'd moved away. I didn't believe that one bit. Only _then _did I start thinking I'd gone too far. The thoughts had consumed me that entire summer, and when fall came around, I broke down and tore into the spot in the yearbook with my eraser where her name once was. I tried in fury to remove the words in black Sharpie until the paper ripped from the force. They were gone. But were they? You can never forget that you could have ever done something like that. It is not cool in any form, and the worst part is that I have done even worse things to her directly. This girl is _dead _because of me and I can't even remember her actual name. She had barely turned thirteen and she never had the chance to happily live out her life.  
I closed the yearbook and placed it back into the drawer. I walked into my bathroom and looked into the mirror to see my eye once again. It's heinous, but it reflects exactly what I'm like on the inside. Jasper was correct. I am a dumb bitch. I may have not done anything to Lapis, but this mark was well deserved.____

_____ _

                                                    ————————————————  
_Lapis ___  
" _I don't even know you! _" I mocked as I poured water into the pot sitting on my stove. The nerve of her! I have made it over eight months in this town successfully out of her vicinity, and now I'm going to fall prey to her again. I turned the burner up. _Maybe she's changed _, I had thought when my mom got a job here. We'd been living in poverty and were about to lose the shabby apartment we were renting for a very low price since my mom didn't make enough money for the two of us where we were living. When she got a call from Beach City, where she used to work, they said that she'd be paid more if she came back. Even before they had paid her more than she had currently been making. I tried to be optimistic and brave for her. I even made my first true real life friend this summer and got a girlfriend. People actually cared about me. But, after today I don't know if I can stay that optimistic. I was barely optimistic as it is. When Peridot stomped on my shoelace, bringing me to the ground, I glanced up at her and I could see that malicious smile she'd always had. And when she had grabbed the collar of my shirt as I tried to escape, the cool tone she'd spoken in sent chills down my back. If Jasper hadn't shown up when she did... I don't know what would've....____  
I let out a long sigh. If Jasper gets herself into this I'm going to fucking kill her.  
Once the water was boiling I poured the box of noodles I had out into the pot and stirred them around before I let them sit to cook. Should I sit somewhere else for lunch tomorrow? No. That would only show that she has power over me. I'm just going to ignore her. Although, I'm kind of upset with Steven. I think I'll talk to him about it tomorrow at school.  
After everything was done I took my food and walked down the small hallway of my apartment into my room and laid down on my bed. I pulled out my chrome book from my backpack, setting it up in front of me. Watching anime seemed like a good way to get my mind of things and have something to be engaged in while eating my pasta. Jasper told me that anime is stupid and that I should stop wasting my time watching it, but what does she know? She said the exact same thing about _Camp Pining Hearts _. Like I'd listen to her anyways. I'm in the mood to watch RE:Zero right now. It's pretty dark but it also has cute girls in it. _Perfect. _____  
It turns out that of course didn't take my mind off things. I continuously thought about how whenever the main character dies he goes back in time to some kind of checkpoint. It's a lot like video games with how if you don't beat a boss and it kills you, you end up having to play that part all over again, but once you beat it, you don't go back to that original starting point. You get a new one and repeat. Not exactly that, but you get the idea. Whenever he screws up, he dies and gets to start all over again. He gets to fix his mistakes and gain more courage to face certain obstacles. I don't have that ability, but I can't help but wish I did. My life would be so much easier if I could just start over again with one simple thing. _But he only does that on purpose once. Just imagine how many times you would do that, how much you would abuse that _. A shiver went down my spine as I was reminded of what happened when I was fifteen. I'm so glad I had my friend, Artsy then. I don't know what I'd do without her. Maybe I should talk a bit with her and Pixel now that I've been done eating for a while now.__  
     I carefully placed my chrome book back into its slim nylon case before picking my iPhone SE up from my night stand. It had a thick blue and black Survivor case on it for protection since I was constantly afraid of shattering it. After opening it up, I clicked on my Instabyte app to go into the group chat I have with my two close online friends, pixelpaint85 and artsystone.fandoms. They know me as waterlily512. I've known them since middle school due to meeting on Pixel's roleplaying account, which she made into an art account when I was in eighth grade. She had grown out of roleplaying and had finally gained confidence to post her art online, so it made perfect sense. Besides, Artsy and I had kinda departed from it as well then, and not many members were active anymore. We don't know any personal things about one another like our age or looks, or what would be deemed personal online. Yet, some things that would be super personal in reality are what we actually know about one another. I trust them a lot with this stuff, as not even Jasper or Steven know of these things.  
     " _Hey guys, how are you doing?” _I asked. Hopefully they're online.__  
          _"Fine," _Pixel responded. Considering that I use that word a lot when I'm asked how I feel, I was a little concerned.__  
     _"Fine as in you're doing good or vice versa? _" I questioned.__  
          _"Eh, so-so I guess, _" she confirmed.__  
_"I could be better, _" Arsty stated, popping in. Isn't that the truth.__  
" _I could say the same, _" I said as I let myself fall onto my back with a sigh.__  
_"New quarter of school I suppose? _" Pixel pondered, due to our responses, " _Don't I know that feeling. _" I have a really firm idea that Pixel is roughly the same age that I am. I suppose she started a new quarter today as well. Who knows. It would be really funny if it turned out she was younger, but I doubt it.____  
" _Yeah _," both Artsy and I said almost simultaneously.__  
_"So, is it people or classes? _"__  
" _Definitely a mixture _," I bluntly stated.__  
" _People are awful _," Artsy typed.__  
" _Yeah, tell me about it _," I rolled my eyes.__  
" _Anyone in specific? _" Pixel asked. She knows me all too well. Even though she can't hear my tone or see my body language, she can somehow always tell what's up. Artsy has this ability too, but not quite as heightened.__  
     " _You know that one girl I told you about, and how I've been avoiding confrontation since I started the school year? _" I said, cutting to the chase instead of playing pokey, which would be a pointless waste of time. Especially with those two.__  
     " _I thought I told you to talk to her _," Artsy said without hesitation.__  
          " _Artsy, considering that Lily is clearly troubled by this, do you really think that should be your first response?” ___  
" _Why not? If she had just calmly said something to her she would know if she was still the same or had changed. One of my best friends did that to me and we've been together ever since. If you had done so Lily, whatever is happening now probably could have been avoided _," she said in defense.__  
" _Artsy... _" Pixel warned.__  
" _It's fine. She's completely right. I should have done that, but I couldn't. Besides, if I had, what occurred today would've just happened sooner, _" I mentioned.__  
     " _Or not, _" Artsy added. She always says what she thinks. Although it does come off as rude at times, I do the exact same thing. Once you know her though, you know it comes from a place of love. She just has a strange way of showing it at times. Pixel is probably glaring at that curt message.__  
" _So you had some classes with her I presume? _" questioned Pixel.__  
" _Is that it? _" At this point Artsy actually was behaving a little too snippy. I'm just going to ignore it for now.__  
_"Did you not talk to her then? I think you should give it a chance ;) _" Pixel continued. Before I could reply, she sent another message.__  
" _I know it's been stated in the past, but I really think you should give this a chance. I won't exactly say what, but I've done a lot of awful things in the past. You probably wouldn't even believe it. I'm not that kind of person anymore though, and I'm happy for it. I imagine if she's anything like me, that she feels a lot of regret and maybe even feels worried about you. I think it would mean a lot to her if you communicated _."__  
" _Yeah. I couldn't have said so better myself _," Artsy stated.__  
" _It's not like that though, Pixel. We did communicate, _" I told her.__  
" _What did she do?" ___  
" _I of course tried to avoid her still at first, but after lunch she had caught on. When everyone else had left she forcefully grabbed me by the wrist so I couldn't escape and brought me to the ground with a sly grin plastered onto her face and she wouldn't let me go, _" I looked at my wrist and clenched my fist. My feelings were laced with both fear and aggravation.__  
_"If I were near you I'd hug you for comfort. Are you okay? _"__  
          _"Are you sure things happened this way and it wasn't just your PTSD? I know how bad it is, _" Artsy replied. I tightened my fist even more.__  
     "Are you kidding me right now?" I growled, typing the words as I said them. What is with her tonight? I thought that talking to her would be helpful, but she's just being a bitch at this point.  
     " _Artsy! You know damn well not to say things like that! _" Pixel exclaimed. She rarely swears at all.__  
_"You're acting like a complete jerk right now. Look at yourself! _" She told her.__  
           I can only assume that this caused Artsy to snap back into focus and suddenly make her realize how she was behaving due to how she communicated after that.  
     " _I'm really sorry I brought that up Lily. I had a really rough day and my mind has been cluttered with so many thoughts that I haven't been thinking straight at all. I just let my feelings out though anger and I can't control it. _"__  
     _"I've had a bad day too Artsy. Bruises and sores aren't fun at all and neither are constant glares from others. I know it isn't much, but still. Lily and I have both been through quite a bit today, yet we're being mature about it, _" Pixel stated.__  
     " _I know I shouldn't have acted like that. It was childish and vain. Are you alright Lily? _" Artsy questioned. I smiled. This is the girl I became friends with.__  
      " _It's okay. I know you're being sincere. And I guess I'm fine? My girlfriend came before things got any worse, but I'm terrified to think of what'd happen if she didn't show up, _" I told her.__  
" _I'm glad you weren't hurt, _" she said.__  
         _"Yeah. It's a relief that you have such a protective girlfriend, _" Pixel commented. Yep. That's Jasper all right. She's very protective.__  
     " _Definitely. Though I think we should talk about something else now," _I told her.__  
   " _I honestly came on here when I did so I could ask you two something, _" Pixel said. That makes a lot of sense. She hasn't been spending too much time on here lately and I was honestly surprised that she responded immediately when I came on, while Artsy didn't.__  
     We replied with a simple sure.  
          " _What should I draw? I'm doing a watercolor painting and I have zero idea on what to do." ___  
" _Just draw some flowers. Those always look beautiful in water color, _" Artsy replied.__  
          " _Specifically jewelweed! _" I chimed in.__  
                " _Next to a brook with the sun shining through the canopy and highlighting the beautiful orange of the flowers! _"__  
     " _That is strangely specific. What is jewelweed? _"__  
           " _Those flowers growing near rivers with the beans that everyone likes to make explode, _" Artsy told her in a way that would automatically make anyone know immediately what they were.__  
     _"I have never heard of that. I really love plants though, but I mostly know about the ones typically grown by people. Hang on. I'm going to look at pictures, _" She said.__  
     _"Wow, you really know your plants Lily. I'm impressed. However, the better term for them is spotted touch-me-not, _" Artsy stated, likely having a smug grin on her face.__  
       " _And I suppose you only know that because you go fishing, Miss 'Outdoorsy Otaku'. Meanwhile, I learned it by studying different aquatic and marsh plants," _I teased. I always found wild plants growing out by the water fascinating. They were my favorite thing to paint.__  
     " _Of course you did, Water Lily, _" she teased back, " _But learning through experience is so much more fun than just researching it." _We have fun.____  
     " _I feel like this shifted away from jewelweed, _" Pixel said when she came back on, " _I think that's what I'll do then. The idea you two gave be will be fun! _"____  
     " _No problem _," we each said.__  
           " _I'd better go now so I can finish it before sleeping." ___  
" _But it's five to midnight on a Wednesday night! Don't you have to get up in the morning? _" Artsy questioned. It's almost midnight already? Wow, I spent a lot more time watching anime than I thought. I would not have known that if we didn’t all go by Eastern standard time.__  
      " _I don't care. I'll be just fine. 'Night you two! _" She said before vanishing.__  
          After that Artsy and I went into our own chat.  
               _"I should probably call it a night too, _" she told me.__  
                    _"That seems like a good idea to me," _I agreed while yawning. Hopefully I wouldn't be overcome with insomnia tonight like usual.__  
    " _I know what I said earlier about your PTSD was rude, but I still think it's possible. I'm sorry, but it is a likely thing. This girl may have done these things due to frustration, she may have been trying to apologize for what she did in the past, but when you kept avoiding her, something just came out. If you won't do it for her, can you at least do it for me?" ___  
_"It's fine Artsy, and I understand. I will do this for you. You can trust that," _I confirmed. I know what she means with that. She's been through a lot and this is something I really should do. For her sake. But, I'm scared. Artsy then sent another message.__  
     " _Thank you Lily. I really appreciate it. In the plausible event that I may be wrong however, please stay safe. I can't bear to loose you." ___  
_"I will." ___  
_"Goodnight Lily." _  
" _Night Artsy, _" I said before turning my phone off and attempting to sleep.____

_____ _

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        I kept thinking about the my predicament even more, which did indeed keep me from sleeping. But, even with this new insight on the situation at hand, one thing was certain. I could not stay loyal to my promise.


	7. A New Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written: February 22nd-23rd, 2019
> 
> Time Period: February 22nd, 2018

Peridot  
" _If you're going through hell, keep on going. Don't slow down. If you're scared don't show it. You might get ou- _" I slapped my iPhone screen to turn of my alarm, which was naturally set on a country playlist of mine. This playlist contained a lot of the more upbeat and louder songs. Perfect to wake up to.__  
     I swung myself out of bed with my feet landing swiftly onto the brown carpet of the floor beneath. I felt a sharp ache in my back as I moved. What on earth did I do? Then I soon recalled getting knocked into the stairwell yesterday afternoon. Right. I picked up my phone to check the weather, hoping it would be as warm as yesterday now that I could actually wear shorts if I wanted. It was too hot for skinny jeans yesterday. Yes! It's going to get up to seventy-three degrees today! I can't wait to get out of class this afternoon. Amethyst and I are going to have so much fun!  
I grabbed a pair of jean shorts and a green tank-top from my closet and went into my bathroom to get ready for the day. My eye had swelled quite a bit overnight and had now started to blacken slightly. I don't really care much anymore, as I know it'll go away in due time. If anyone takes notice to it I'll just play it cool. Or I could just yell at them. That works too. Other than that I looked nice, like usual. I grabbed a cup and filled it with water, then went back into my room to water my plants.  
After that I grabbed my phone, earbuds, and chrome book and headed down the stairs with Pumpkin padding closely behind. I gave her some Diamond dog food, specifically the puppy formula, which she ate voraciously. At least she isn't trying to eat my mulch. While she ate I put my things into my backpack, filled up my water bottle, and stuck a slice of breakfast pizza into the microwave. Pizza is always super easy to eat while driving down country roads. Once she had finished, I took her to her outdoor kennel since it'd be a stable temperature for her today and I wouldn't be home to let her out until late at night. When Pumpkin was done being taken care of, I headed back inside and took my pizza out, put a hoodie on, slung my backpack over my shoulder, slipped on some flip-flops, grabbed the keys for my truck, and headed out.

____

The beautiful pinks and oranges the sun gave off in the dawn sky were absolutely stunning this morning. It made me feel good. Today is going to be a great day. It's beautiful outside, I'm going to go help Rose untangle some morning glories before class, I have great plans with Amethyst for her birthday today, and best of all, no dealing with any crap from Lapis and Jasper! Things should be just fine with Lapis and I if I just ignore her. That's what we both want now, so there'll be no conflict at all. She's just an emo jerk. I don't even know why Steven thinks she's fun. But then again, he likes everyone. Jasper won't be a big deal either as I'm not gonna do anything to Lapis. She's also probably in a better mood today as it's her birthday as well if she's Amethyst's twin sister. I still can't believe that's a thing! Amethyst's other sisters, which she actually lives with, are going to hang out with us for a bit tonight. They're always fun to be around, unlike Jasper.  
Once I parked my truck in the student lot I got out and saw that a certain tall friend of mine was getting out right next to me. She towers over me quite a bit. I'm pretty sure she could take Jasper in a fight. Her blonde hair was cut short and she had big headphones over her ears.  
"Hi Topaz!" I waved. Topaz took her headphones down when she saw me walking over to her.  
"Hey Peri! How are you?" She asked me.  
"I'm doing great!" I exclaimed as I got over to her.  
"Is your eye alright? Did you and Aquamarine get into a fight or something?" She questioned worriedly once she saw my eye. This caused me to laugh quite a bit.  
"What?! Aquamarine could never take _me _in a fight. She's so tiny! She'd get beaten into a pulp if she used physical violence on me. I mean look at these muscles!" I explained, showing off.__  
"Yeah, and you're right about her not using physical violence. She loves using words as her weapon of choice. I just thought she'd be the only one you'd fight."  
"Nah, I honestly want to fight everyone except for my friends maybe. I actually got this by fighting a football player! She was really upset with how things ended up for her," I snickered proudly, trying to sound cool as we walked towards the building. If I had fought Jasper I have no idea what'd happen.  
"Really?" Topaz pondered.  
          "No," I sighed as I hung my body low. There was no point in lying to her, "Jasper just punched me in the eye without warning. She still got the short end of the stick though! This will just go away, but she has no football practice and she has detention with Miss Halite!" I exclaimed.  
     "Jasper did this to you?" She questioned with a hint of anger.  
          "Want to fight her for me?" I asked. I wasn't serious about this.  
                "No. I'd probably have a decent chance, but I don't want to get hurt or into trouble," she stated.  
     "That's fair. I'm not worried about her anymore anyways."  
          "You still have to deal with Aqua though. And she's way worse than Jasper," Topaz pointed out.  
     "I know you've heard about her from me, but do you know her personally?" I asked.  
          Topaz looked at her feet, "Well, I had a few classes with her last year and the first couple quarters this year. I didn't interact with her myself much then, but I saw how she treated the other students. Most of the kids in the class were in my grade or upperclassmen too. Freshman should be scared of us! And she's still an underclassmen this year as well considering you're sophomores now. The 'not interacting much' ended yesterday in the Video Production class we share. Our teacher assigned partners for a huge summative quarter long project and he put the two of us in the same group."  
     "Seriously? You have to be her partner for an entire quarter?!" I questioned.  
          "Yeah. I just kinda remain stoic for the most part, hoping to not give her anything she can use against me. I also listen to everything she says while I secretly hide the fact that I hate her. She yells at me if I don't do exactly what she tells me to," she told me.  
     "If I had your strength I'd chuck her into the wall!" I snickered evilly, thinking of how funny that would be. Then I straightened myself back up, "But in all seriousness, definitely don't do that."  
     "Wasn't planning on it. I couldn't bring myself to do so," she said shyly.  
          "You need to stand up for yourself!"  
               "That's easy for you to say. You're so confident in yourself, or you act like it at least. Meanwhile, I just avoid showing my emotions to anyone as I'm scared of what they'd say. You think that you have social anxiety too, but you've really come a long way since then!" She exclaimed. But I do have social anxiety! Then again, maybe she's right in a way. I keep thinking that I'm still as uncomfortable with others as she is, but in reality I suppose I'm not. I let my emotions loose, I will immediately state my opinions without question, and I'm not too shy about talking to others at all, even if I don't know them. I still tend to overthink everything far to much though. That's something that'll never change.  
     "I'm just going to bide my time until third quarter ends. It's not too bad," Topaz continued.  
     "Yeah, at least third quarter was shortened by about a month in order to add more time to first and second quarter after the school had to be closed down due to that whooping cough outbreak last fall. I'm kinda glad my mom is overly excessive with the vaccines I get, so I wasn't one of the people who got it. Anyways, regardless of the short length of the quarter, you should at least say something to your teacher about her," I stated.  
     "Maybe," She said in a way that told me she totally wasn't going to. We arrived at the building and I opened the door as the two of us walked inside.  
     "So why'd you come to school early?" I asked her.  
          "I just need to make up a test from last quarter before the grading period ends. My teacher told me to come in before school starts. What about you?"  
     "That makes sense. I'm just here early to help Rose out and organize my stuff for the day," I told her.  
     "Ah."  
          After that the two of us just quietly walked next to each other up the stairs and onto the main floor, going through the commons until I had to separate from her and travel down the D hallway to the left.  
     "Have a nice day Topaz," I smiled.  
          "You too Peridot!" She exclaimed before continuing to walk to the class she had to get to. I turned and headed right down to where Mrs. Universe's room was at the end of the hall.  
The entire room was dark. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. She must be late or something. I just decided to sit on the floor outside of her room and went on google to look at memes while I messed with my bangs so that they'd lie down over my eye as they were thick enough to do so efficiently. I can't believe that we're over halfway through February and there's no big trending meme this month. I mean there are these "God's Plan" memes starting to poke up, but nothing as big as the four huge ones last month. At least there isn't anything like the stupid Tide Pod thing. It actually got to the point that one of the girls that goes _here _did it. This resulted in an assembly apparently being needed to inform us not to eat them. They didn't say who decided it was smart to bite into one of those, as that was confidential. The good news though, is that stupid clod is apparently okay now.__  
I suddenly heard the nearby door unlock and lifted my head to see Mrs. Universe, Ms. Halite, and Steven walk inside. I quickly stood up and put my phone away.  
"Hey Peri!" Steven exclaimed. I smiled back.  
"Hi Steven."  
"Sorry I'm a little late today Peridot. Lion found a lizard outside yesterday and regurgitated it before we left this morning," Mrs. Universe told me.  
"He always does it on my bed!" Steven said in an irritated tone.  
"Well, that is a thing cats tend to do no matter how big they are. The cats I have in the barn do that with frogs," I mentioned.  
"At least that's on the floor."  
"Fair point."  
"I'll unlock the classroom now Peridot," Mrs. Universe said as she used her key to unlock the door. After that she turned on the light switch.  
"I'm going to go put my stuff into my locker. See you at snack break Peridot!" He told me before giving his mom a hug.  
"I hope you have a great day Steven. I love you," she said, hugging him back.  
"You too Mom," Steven told her as they parted. He then walked down the hallway to the Freshman locker bay. Miss Halite had already vanished as well.  
Mrs. Universe then turned towards me.  
"Okay Peridot, let's go untangle some vines!" She said excitedly.  
"Yes ma'am!" I replied.  
And with that, the two of us headed over to the table that had every one of the morning glories sitting atop it with their vines going all over the place. It was time for things to unravel.

**Author's Note:**

> N/A


End file.
